Secrets of the Medjai Virtual Season Episode 8 - Seeing the Light
by J-R Virtual Seasons
Summary: Alex strives to set things right in London, then he returns to Egypt to find a whole new world of trouble waiting for him.
1. Chapter 1

Rick and Evy burst through the front door and peered into the thick mantle of fog.

'Oh my God,' Evy breathed, 'I think they really are gone!'

'No... no, they can't be,' said Rick. 'I'll bet they're still around here somewhere. Alex! Alex, please come back – you were right all along; we can see that now!'

'Alex, please don't take our baby from us!' Evy yelled. 'We didn't mean what we said! You were right about everything – the fog is evil and we should've realised it sooner!'

'We _do_ want to be parents to Mikey!' Rick added. 'He needs us and we need him, just like you said!'

'Oh Alex, please come back!' Evy wailed. 'I just can't stand the thought of someone else taking my place as Mikey's mother! Don't get me wrong – Yanit's lovely and I'm sure she's perfectly capable, but...'

Evy's voice died away. They stood and waited in anxious expectation, but nothing moved behind the grey blanket of fog.

'I guess he's really done it, then,' Jonathan remarked, as he appeared on the doorstep behind Rick and Evy. 'Alex has taken the baby to Egypt.'

'No... no, he can't have done,' Evy wept, 'not really!'

'I... I still don't believe it!' said Rick. 'Alex, I know you're there – you just _have_ to be there! We've learned our lesson, sport; we're ready to help you destroy the evil fog now. Alex? ALEX!'

Slow, deliberate footsteps were heard to be approaching the house. As Rick, Evy and Jonathan stared intently along the street, they managed to pick out the features of Alex and the carry-cot emerging from the gloom.

'Did you call me?' Alex asked casually.

'Yes, we did call you!' said Evy. 'Oh, Alex, please give me back my baby!'

Alex smiled, mounted the front steps and passed the carry-cot to his mother. She immediately started making a great fuss of Michael, who seemed to enjoy the attention.

'I'm sorry about that Yanit quip, Mom,' said Alex. 'It's just that I had to be sure you'd completely shaken off the effects of the fog... which you obviously have, now.'

'So you were never actually planning to go through with the whole take-the-baby-to-Egypt plan, then?' said Jonathan.

'Of course not, Uncle Jonathan,' said Alex. 'The idea just came to me in a rush and I decided to run with it. That's why I didn't take any of Mikey's stuff... or any of my stuff... or Tut!'

'Oh... yeah, right,' said Jonathan. 'Well, you had _me_ fooled, mate.'

'You gave us all a scare, sport,' said Rick. 'But I guess we really needed it, huh?'

'You sure did!' said Alex. 'Now, about this plan to destroy the fog. I think it'd be best if we go somewhere really high, where I can hold the Manacle right up in the air and direct all our positive feelings through it.'

'I think I should stay here, with Mikey,' said Evy.

'No, Mom,' said Alex. 'We'll all be needed for this, including Mikey! Having him with me in the drawing room gave me a whole load of warm fuzzies that helped me to defeat the fog, so he can definitely help you do it too!'

'He's right, Evy,' said Rick. 'Mikey's already been the deciding factor in getting us this far; we still need him for this.'

'Okay,' said Evy, 'I can see that now. Yes... yes, you're right.'

'So it's somewhere tall we need, hmm?' said Jonathan. 'How about the roof of my nightclub?'

'I was hoping for somewhere a little taller than that, Uncle Jonathan,' said Alex, 'just to be sure of it.'

'The Monument,' said Evy. 'It's just down the road, and it's two hundred and two foot tall.'

'Yes, that'll do,' said Alex. 'Okay, let's go for it.'

* * *

'I can't see a thing in this dashed fog!' said Jonathan. 'We could walk right by the Monument and not even notice it!'

'No, Uncle Jonathan,' said Alex, 'it's about ten yards straight in front of us.'

'How do you know that?' Jonathan asked peevishly. 'Supreme Medjai intuition?'

'No; I can see the top of it,' said Alex. 'Look, there – that massive golden beacon!'

'Oh... oh, yes,' said Jonathan. 'I wonder why they bothered putting that thing up there.'

'Uncle Jonathan, you do know what the Monument is a monument to, don't you?' said Alex.

'Of course I do!' said Jonathan. 'It's a monument to... er, the Great British spirit!'

'It's a monument to the Fire of London,' said Alex. 'That's what the golden beacon represents.'

'Well excuse me, Mr Encyclopedia!' said Jonathan.

'Uncle Jonathan, you're giving in to your negative feelings again,' said Alex. 'That's probably partly my fault, actually – I shouldn't have implied you were ignorant of the most basic facts about famous London landmarks.'

'But he _is_!' Rick pointed out. 'He's ignorant of the most basic facts about almost everything!'

'Ricky dear, that's not very helpful,' Evy said gently, stroking Michael's cheek with her free hand as she spoke. 'Let's hurry up and do what we came to do, okay? Look, there's the entrance.'

'How tall did you say this thing is, Evy?' said Jonathan.

'Two hundred and two foot,' said Evy.

'I suppose it has a lot of steps, then,' Jonathan sighed.

'Yes,' said Evy. 'Three hundred and eleven steps, to be precise. Now let's climb them as quickly as we can, shall we?'

'I'm with you, Mom,' said Alex. 'Let's do this!'

Evy slipped her free arm through Rick's and guided him inside the Monument; Alex grasped Jonathan firmly by the shoulders and propelled him in too. They climbed the three hundred and eleven steps, and emerged onto the platform at the top of the tower.

'Okay,' said Alex, 'this is what we're gonna do. Uncle Jonathan, you hold my left hand, then Dad will hold your other hand, and Mom will hold Dad's hand and the carry-cot.'

'I'm not holding _his_ hand!' Rick said peevishly, giving Jonathan a dirty look.

'Dad, you have to fight it!' said Alex. 'Remember why we're here!'

Rick looked blank for a few moments, then he adopted a determined expression and nodded at Alex. Alex grabbed one of Jonathan's hands while Rick grabbed the other, then Evy took Rick's free hand in hers. Alex raised his right arm and held the Manacle of Osiris as high in the air as he could.

'Now think about how much we all love each other,' Alex instructed.

'That's kinda difficult to do on demand, sport,' said Rick.

'Just look at Mikey!' said Alex. 'Think about what he means to you, and to all of us as a family – think about why you didn't want me to take him to Egypt!'

'And... and look at Alex, for Christ's sake!' said Jonathan. 'Think about how far he's come – from a freckled little urchin who used to spend far too much time hanging around the British Museum, to the Supreme Medjai and saviour of the world several times over! Look at him now – a fine figure of a young man; broad of shoulder, square of jaw, firm and shapely of pec...'

'Uncle Jonathan, stop it!' Alex giggled. 'You're embarrassing me.'

'Yes,' said Rick. 'Yes, I... I can feel it, Alex!'

'So can I,' said Evy. 'It feels... it feels... it feels wonderful!'

Alex creased his brow into a frown of concentration and thrust his right fist into the air with renewed effort. Once again, he ran through some of his most intimate moments with Yanit in his mind. A golden burst of energy erupted from the Manacle of Osiris and quickly blanketed the sky.

The evil fog stood no chance. Alex grunted with exertion as he concentrated as much mental energy as he could muster on sending the power of his family's positive vibes out through the Manacle. At last he could stand no more. Jonathan felt Alex wrench his hand away. With a final vocalisation of extreme effort, Alex dropped to his knees on the viewing platform.

'Alex...' said Rick, placing a hand gently on his son's heaving shoulders. 'You did it. I mean, _we_ did it. Look!'

Alex raised his eyes, and a smile spread over his face. Bright sunshine was beating down on the city; it was as if the fog had never existed.

'I've got to hand it to you, mate,' said Jonathan, 'there's no evil in this world that you can't get the better of!'

'I'm not so sure... about that,' said Alex, still breathing heavily as he dragged himself to his feet. 'Just because I haven't come across it yet... doesn't mean it's not out there somewhere.'

'That's nonsense,' said Evy. 'You'll whip our sorry little world into shape yet, Alex; I truly believe that no one and nothing can stop you!'

'Thanks, Mom,' said Alex, giving her a weary smile. 'Can I hold Mikey for a while?'

Evy returned the smile, and passed the baby to Alex.

'Hi again, Mikey,' Alex beamed at his brother. 'You just played a big part in saving the world, you know... or London, at least... and I don't have any doubts that you'll do it again in the future.'

Rick and Evy were content to stare lovingly at their two sons for a few moments; Jonathan was the one to break the silence.

'Can we get down from here now?' he said. 'I'm getting a distinct feeling of vertigo.'

'Yes; we need to get back home,' said Evy. 'That chicken's probably almost ready by now.'

'And there's absolutely no chance that it's going to taste like arse,' Rick added.

'I want to go to the post office on the way home,' said Alex, adjusting his grip on Michael. 'I'm going to send a telegram to Ardeth Bay to say that I'll be back at the Medjai Academy on Saturday... if you wouldn't mind giving me a ride again, Dad?'

'No problem, Alex,' said Rick. 'If that's what you want.'

'You're welcome to stay with us for as long as you like, you know,' Evy added hopefully.

'Yeah, I know, Mom,' Alex sighed, 'but I need to get back. Uncle Jonathan, I'm gonna honour my promise to act as your bodyguard on Friday night so that you can pay off your debts without getting your face rearranged or your kneecaps removed... but after that, I really need to get back to Yanit... and the others, obviously.'

'Of course you do, sport,' said Rick. 'I'll have the Zephyr ready at first light on Saturday.'

'Thanks, Dad,' said Alex, shooting Rick a grateful smile. 'I hope you understand, it's not that I don't want to stay longer with you guys. I just need to get back because... well, because I feel like it's the right thing to do, and the right time to do it.'

'You don't have to explain yourself to us, Alex,' said Rick. 'We understand.'

'But I'll come back home again really soon!' Alex added. 'I'm not gonna stay away for eleven months this time, I promise. I'll come back for Christmas... and maybe stay for six to eight weeks... if you want me for that long.'

'Oh Alex, of course we do!' said Evy.

'I'll, er... I'll bring Yanit with me,' said Alex. 'To stay as well, I mean... for six to eight weeks. That's if she'll come... but I think she will. You, er... you wouldn't mind if I did that, would you?'

'Not a problem, sport,' said Rick.

'Of course we wouldn't mind!' said Evy. 'It'll be lovely to meet her properly, and you'll both be welcome to stay for as long as you want!'

'Okay, great,' said Alex, smiling and looking down at his feet. 'Let's go to the post office, then.'

* * *

Ardeth and Fadil were waiting outside the Medjai Academy when Rick and Alex arrived. Alex went up to Ardeth, gave him a smile and shook his hand. Ardeth stared back at him impassively.

'Hi, Ardeth,' Alex ventured. 'Are you okay?'

'Oh yes, Alex,' Ardeth replied, ' _I'm_ okay.'

'Good,' said Alex. 'I'm glad to see you again.'

'Yes,' said Ardeth.

Alex decided to give up on this rather unrewarding conversation, so he turned his attention to Fadil. Ignoring Alex's outstretched hand, Fadil flung his arms around him instead.

'Oh Alex, I'm so happy to see you!' Fadil exhaled into Alex's ear.

'I'm happy to see you too, Fadil,' said Alex, patting him on the back.

'Thank God you've finally returned to us!' Fadil continued. 'Your presence here is needed more than ever before!'

'Really?' said Alex. 'Is there some kind of emergency going on?'

'No, not an emergency,' said Fadil. 'It's just that...'

Fadil seemed unable to finish the sentence. Alex was suddenly gripped by a feeling of unease.

'Where's Yanit?' he said.

'In her room,' said Fadil. 'She wanted to come and greet you, but in the end she decided she couldn't face getting out of bed.'

'What?!' said Alex. 'Oh my God, there's something wrong with her, isn't there?'

'Nothing's exactly _wrong_ with her,' said Fadil. 'She's just... not quite herself at the moment. But she'll be okay once she's seen you again, Alex. She told me to tell you that you're welcome to visit her in her room as soon as you're ready.'

'Yeah... yeah, I'll definitely do that!' said Alex. 'I guess I'd better drop off Tut and my suitcase first.'

'Oh, don't bother with that,' said Fadil. 'I'll take them for you – you just go along and see Yanit, okay?'

'Okay,' said Alex. 'Thanks, Fadil.'

Alex handed Fadil his suitcase and coaxed Tut out from his shirt. Fadil carefully took hold of the mongoose, then Alex ran inside the Academy without a backward glance.

'Ardeth, what the hell is going on around here?' said Rick.

'Much has happened over the past weeks, my friend,' said Ardeth.

'Much of a supernatural nature?' said Rick.

'No,' said Ardeth. 'Much of an all too natural nature, I'm afraid. Come with me to my office, Rick – I feel I should tell you all about it over a cup of tea and a biscuit.'

* * *

Alex entered Yanit's room. He smiled when he saw her, apparently fast asleep on her bed. He went to sit beside her, and reached out to stroke her hair.

'Yanit...' he whispered.

'Alex...' she said sleepily, then her eyes snapped open and a smile quickly spread across her face. 'Oh, Alex!'

She shot up into a sitting position and flung her arms around him. Alex hugged her back and kissed her on the cheek.

'I've missed you like you wouldn't believe,' said Alex.

'Oh, I'd believe it,' Yanit assured him. 'Thank God you've come back to me, Alex.'

'And thank God we can touch each other this time,' Alex added.

Yanit pulled out of the hug and looked into Alex's eyes, keeping her hands firmly gripped on his shoulders.

'This time...' she repeated. 'Alex, are you referring to a time not so long ago when you were here, but you weren't here?'

'I... I don't know,' said Alex. 'I mean, I kinda thought that was just a dream.'

'So did I,' said Yanit.

'But... but if we both remember it, I guess it can't have been a dream.'

'Yes. It must have been... something else.'

Alex gave Yanit a contemplative look and said, 'Do you know my baby brother's name?'

'Mikey,' said Yanit.

'That proves it!' said Alex. 'I really _was_ here... or a part of me was, like I said at the time. I guess it must be a new power.'

'Astral projection,' said Yanit. 'Perhaps because I was so desperate to have you with me that night, you were drawn to me in your astral body.'

'Or else it was because _I_ was so desperate to have _you_ with _me_ ,' said Alex.

'Oh yes, the evil fog,' said Yanit. 'Did you manage to defeat it in the end?'

'Yes... thanks in no small part to my feelings for you,' said Alex. 'I'll tell you all about it in a minute, but first... well, first...'

'First what, Alex?'

'Yanit, I'm phenomenally worried about you! Ardeth and Fadil were acting really weird just now, and when I was here in my astral body – which I'll have to talk through with the Minotaur when we've finished this conversation, but I just can't worry about it too much right now – you said you'd done something to let me down and disappoint me... and now you say you were desperate to have me with you that night! I don't believe for one moment that I'm going to feel let down or disappointed by this thing that you've done, but I'd really like to know what it is!'

'I guess... I guess it's not so much something that I've done,' said Yanit, 'as something that happened to me.'

'For God's sake, Yanit, what happened to you?'

'I... I'd like to hear about your experiences first, Alex. Tell me about your family. Tell me about Mikey. Tell me about how you defeated the evil fog.'

'And... and then you'll tell me about _your_ experiences, right?'

'Yes... yes, I will.'

* * *

Yanit leaned back against her pillows and fixed Alex with a smile.

'Your uncle's right, Alex,' she said. 'I'm beginning to think that there is nothing in the world that you can't do.'

'Oh, that's nonsense,' said Alex. 'I'm sure there are plenty of things.'

'It was really clever of you to use Mikey to snap your parents out of their funk.'

'Hey, if a brand new baby can't do it, nothing can! That's what I figured, anyway... and I guess I was right. It was the idea of you and me raising Mikey like our own son that really brought them around, especially my mom! She just couldn't bear the thought of someone else being a mother to him... not that I'm saying you won't be a fantastic mother someday, Yanit, but obviously it wouldn't have been right just to take Mikey away from her like that, and now isn't exactly the right time for us to start a family anyway, and... oh my God, what's wrong?'

Much to Alex's alarm and bewilderment, tears had started pouring down Yanit's cheeks.

'It's nothing,' she said, wiping her streaming eyes on her sleeve. 'Don't worry about it, Alex – I'm just being silly.'

'That's what you said when you were crying before, when I came to you in my astral body,' said Alex. 'Yanit, please tell me what's wrong!'

Yanit looked into Alex's desperate eyes. She smiled at him, then reached out to stroke his cheek.

'Okay,' said Yanit. 'Okay, I'll tell you everything. It all started when I woke up in the middle of the night with a horrible abdominal pain.'

'You mean like a stomach-ache?' said Alex.

'Not _un_ like a stomach-ache,' said Yanit, 'but different from any stomach-ache I'd ever experienced before. At first I thought it was just... you know, ladies' problems... but when I came to realise that it wasn't, I went to the Medjai doctor and told him all about it. He examined me, then he said I had to go to the hospital in Cairo that very minute.'

'Oh my God,' Alex breathed.

'Ardeth and Fadil took me to Cairo and we went to the hospital and I tried my best to explain everything to them,' said Yanit. 'We had to sit in a waiting room for two hours, then I was put onto an examination table and poked and prodded for a while... I didn't like that part.'

'Yanit, it all sounds ghastly!'

'Yes, it _was_ ghastly. Eventually they took some of my blood and told me to wait in the waiting room while they rushed through the results, then after another two hours they came and told me I had a perfectly clean bill of health except that... except that...'

'Except that what?'

'They told me I was going to have a baby, Alex.'

'They did?'

'Yes, they did. Then they all went off to do something else, and I talked through everything with Ardeth and Fadil for about half an hour... then some porters came in and manhandled me onto a trolley without any explanation. They took me to have an x-ray, then they put me in a bed on a ward, and then about an hour after that a doctor I'd never seen before came in and told me that I wasn't going to have a baby after all.'

'You mean they'd made a mistake?'

'Not exactly,' said Yanit. 'This doctor told me that the positive pregnancy test combined with the x-ray showed that they had to perform a procedure on me.'

'What kind of procedure?' said Alex.

'They wouldn't really tell me anything about it,' said Yanit. 'I had to stay the night in the ward, and then the next morning I was taken into an operating theatre and given a local anaesthetic all around my hips. Two surgeons eventually arrived and started doing things to me with scalpels and syringes. A nurse was holding my hand all the time and telling me that everything was going to be okay. One of the surgeons left after a while without saying anything to me, then the other one stitched me up and also left without saying anything to me. The nurse told me I'd done really well and I could go home the next afternoon, then she left too.'

'But... but... what did they actually _do_ to you?'

'They made an incision, here.'

Yanit traced a line from her right hip towards the inside of her right leg. Alex stared at her with wide, unblinking eyes.

'They took something out of me, Alex,' Yanit continued. 'The... the something that was causing the abdominal pain.'

'You mean... you mean the baby, right?' said Alex.

'It wasn't a baby,' said Yanit. 'It was something that could've been a baby, but it didn't end up in the right place to turn into one. That's what Ardeth told me, anyway. Like I said, the hospital staff were very cagey about the whole thing.'

'Jesus...' said Alex.

'So anyway, I came home the next afternoon and I went to bed and I felt like I'd just had my soul ripped out,' said Yanit, 'and I wished to God that you could be there with me and... well, then you were. I honestly don't know what I would've done if you hadn't appeared to me that night, Alex. I think I might well have gone quite, quite mad!'

'Oh my God... Yanit, I'm so sorry that this happened to you, and that I wasn't there for you!'

'But you _were_ there for me, Alex. And I'm fine now... or I will be, now that you're back.'

Yanit pulled herself into an upright position and kissed Alex on the cheek. Alex wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

'Yanit, can I ask you something?' he said.

'Anything, Alex,' she replied.

'After going through that whole horrible sequence of events, do you... do you regret what we did?'

'Oh, no! No, it was wonderful. I guess there just has to be a price to pay sometimes, huh?'

'Oh, Yanit,' said Alex, resting his wet cheek against her shoulder.

'Although I must admit,' Yanit continued, 'it does make me worry slightly.'

'Worry?' said Alex. 'About what?'

'About our future together,' said Yanit. 'Maybe... maybe I'll never be able to give you a child, Alex. Maybe I have defective ovaries!'

'That's nonsense, Yanit.'

'It's not nonsense, Alex! Just think about it for a moment – whatever went wrong couldn't have had anything to do with your... contribution, could it? You're the Supreme Medjai; you have a ton of healing powers! Your... off-shots can't be susceptible to that kind of thing, can they? So it must be my fault!'

'It doesn't work that way, Yanit,' said Alex. 'This kind of thing isn't anybody's fault, okay? It's just... well, it's just the way life is! Obviously this time it wasn't meant to be, but in the future – when we're both ready – we'll have a whole bunch of kids and they'll all be perfect!'

'The nurse did tell me there was no discernible reason that I couldn't have children in the future,' said Yanit, 'but still, I...'

'Is this why you thought you'd let me down?'

'Yes.'

'But you didn't! You can see that now, Yanit, can't you?'

'Yes... yes, I can see that now.'

'I wish you'd been in London with me for this whole thing! I know it wouldn't have changed anything, but at least we could've gone through it together!'

'Plus the London hospitals are probably a little cleaner than the one in Cairo... but still, they did what needed to be done for me and I mustn't complain. But I do wish I'd come with you, Alex, like you wanted me to. I don't ever want us to be separated again.'

'We won't be!' said Alex. 'We'll never be apart again, Yanit – I promise you! Do you want to come home with me for Christmas and stay for six to eight weeks?'

'Oh, yes!' said Yanit. 'Yes, Alex, I do want to do that!'

'It's settled, then,' said Alex.

'By the way, you don't need to worry that I was unsupported through this whole thing – Fadil and Ardeth were both wonderful,' said Yanit. 'They wanted to send for you to come back to Egypt as soon as I was admitted to hospital, but I told them to leave you alone until you'd quite finished spending time with your family. They've both been so good to me, though. Fadil even took me for a night out in Cairo yesterday. I didn't enjoy it much, but it's the thought that counts.'

'God bless Fadil,' said Alex. 'He's a rock.'

'He's met someone, you know,' said Yanit. 'In Cairo, I mean.'

'Is this someone a female someone?'

'Yes, that's right. Her name's Tara. Fadil introduced me to her last night. Apparently they've been to the cinema a few times, and to the street bazaar once. He wants you to meet her as well.'

'I'd love to meet her,' said Alex. 'The four of us can go double dating... when we're all feeling up to it, of course.'

Yanit laughed, then she kissed Alex on the cheek. He kissed her in return, then their lips met and they became lost in the moment. Some time later, Fadil arrived in the doorway. He smiled at the scene on the bed.

'So,' he ventured, 'I guess you guys are all caught up and feeling as okay as possible?'

Alex and Yanit looked over to the doorway. They both smiled at Fadil, and held out an arm to him. He smiled back, ran across the room and entered into a three-way hug with them.

'I told Alex about Tara,' Yanit told Fadil. 'I hope that's okay.'

'Of course it's okay,' said Fadil. 'I'd like to arrange a meeting soon, if that's okay with you, Alex.'

'I'm looking forward to it,' said Alex.

'Good,' said Fadil. 'You'll be very interested to meet Tara, I think. She... well, now isn't really the time to talk about that, I suppose. Your father would like a word with you when you're ready; that's what I really came to tell you. He's in Ardeth's office.'

'Well, he can wait until we've finished this Supreme Council hug!' said Alex.


	2. Chapter 2

Alex found his father sitting behind Ardeth's desk, finishing off a biscuit.

'Hi, Dad,' he said.

'Hi, Alex,' said Rick, quickly swallowing the last of his snack. 'Ardeth told me everything.'

'He did, huh?' Alex said, frowning. 'Good old Ardeth!'

'Are you okay, son?'

'Yeah, I'm okay, Dad. I mean, I will be.'

'How about Yanit?' said Rick.

'She'll be okay too,' said Alex. 'Obviously she's not feeling at her best right now... neither am I, I guess... but we'll be okay.'

Rick smiled, nodded, stood up, walked around the desk, came over to Alex and gathered him into a hug. Looking slightly surprised, Alex returned the embrace.

'Are _you_ okay, Dad?' he asked.

'Nothing wrong with me, sport,' said Rick. 'Don't you go concerning yourself with stuff like that.'

'Dad, I'll always be concerned about you,' said Alex. 'And about Mom, and Mikey, and Uncle Jonathan! Even if I'm not at home with you all, I still love you and you're still a huge part of my life. Don't you know that by now?'

'Sure I do, Alex,' said Rick. 'We all do.'

'Good,' said Alex. 'Er... didn't you want to say anything else to me? About what Ardeth told you, I mean.'

'No,' said Rick. 'I just wanted to make sure you're okay.'

'Oh... oh, right,' said Alex. 'The thing is, when Fadil said you wanted to have a word with me, I assumed... well, I thought you might...'

'Tell you you'd done something wrong?' said Rick.

'Well... yeah, kinda.'

'You know, Alex, I... and just stop me if you don't want to talk about this stuff, 'cause I'd certainly understand if you didn't... but I lost _my_ virginity when I was fifteen, and it wasn't with someone I loved, or even really cared about... and I'm pretty certain that that's something you'll always have that I stupidly denied myself. Am I right, son?'

'Yes, Dad,' said Alex. 'I _do_ love Yanit and I don't regret what we did. Although you're wrong about one thing – technically I was still fourteen when... it happened.'

'Well, what's a couple of weeks between family?' Rick laughed.

'Are you gonna tell Mom about this?'

'Don't you want me to?'

'I don't know, Dad,' Alex sighed. 'You'd better just do what you think is right.'

'Well, I guess I won't try to hide it from her,' said Rick, 'but I won't make any specific plans to tell her either, and we'll see how things go.'

'Thanks, Dad,' said Alex. 'You can definitely tell her one thing, though – Yanit's agreed to come home with me for Christmas and stay for six to eight weeks.'

'That's great, sport,' said Rick. 'I'll be sure to tell your mom.'

'You'd better be getting back now, hadn't you?' said Alex. 'She'll start to worry about you.'

'I'll leave in a couple of minutes, son,' said Rick, tightening his grip on Alex. 'Just... just indulge your old man a little longer, huh?'

'Of course, Dad,' said Alex. 'And believe me, there's no indulging about it.'

Rick finally drew away from Alex when Ardeth entered the room. Ardeth gave the pair of them a look, but went to his desk without saying anything.

'Okay,' said Rick, 'I'll be off, then. Just let me know when you and Yanit want to come to London, sport, and I'll come and pick you up.'

'Thanks, Dad,' said Alex.

'Bye for now, Ardeth,' said Rick.

'Goodbye, my friend,' said Ardeth. 'I look forward to our next meeting.'

Rick smiled, gave Alex's left shoulder a final squeeze and then left the room. Ardeth seated himself behind his desk, deliberately not looking at Alex.

'You didn't have to blab to my dad like that, you know,' Alex said to him. 'He was great about it, as it turned out, but I'd rather have told him in my own time.'

'He needed to know,' said Ardeth. 'You are not yet an adult, Alex, at least in legal terms. Do not forget that.'

'It's one of the things I like best about belonging to a _secret_ society!' said Alex.

'The Medjai Order does not exist to screen your clandestine whims, Alex,' said Ardeth, 'even if you _are_ the Supreme Medjai.'

'Yes,' said Alex, 'I _am_ the Supreme Medjai... so maybe you'd better think about all the different reasons why it might not be a good idea for you to piss me off!'

Ardeth looked up sharply. Alex fixed him with an impressive frown.

'Perhaps the Supreme Medjai might do me the favour of listening to a few things I have to say to him,' Ardeth said quietly, 'at a time that is quite convenient.'

'I'm going to see if I can find the Minotaur now, so I can talk through my new power of astral projection with him,' said Alex. 'But I'll come back here and talk to you after the evening meal, if that's what you want.'

'Yes,' said Ardeth, 'that's what I want.'

'Okay then,' said Alex, and he turned to leave the room.

'By the rules of the Supreme Council – your rules, Alex – Fadil and I could have overruled Yanit when she said we weren't to call you back here as soon as she went into hospital,' Ardeth suddenly announced. 'We considered the matter carefully, and in the end we decided to honour Yanit's wishes. But on a purely personal level, I truly believed that you should have been here, helping to tidy up the mess you'd made. That's just something for you to ponder over between now and our after-dinner conversation.'

'I can already tell that this conversation is going to displease me enormously,' said Alex. 'But I'll still have it with you, don't worry about that! And I'm glad you decided to honour Yanit's wishes... not because I'd rather not have been here with her, but because it was her decision to make!'

With that, Alex turned on his heel and stalked from the room.

* * *

Ardeth looked up from his paperwork as Alex entered the office. Alex leaned his back against the wall, folded his arms across his chest and looked at Ardeth expectantly.

'Let's have it, then,' said Alex.

'I knew something like this would happen,' Ardeth said darkly. 'Every time I saw you and Yanit getting closer than you ought to be, I knew it wouldn't be long before you gave in to your misguided adolescent urges!'

'Just out of interest, have you said this kind of thing to Yanit too?'

'Well... no, not exactly. I mean, she's a... and you're a...'

'Oh, right,' said Alex. 'It's all my fault because I'm the boy, huh?'

'You did go away and leave her in a most unenviable position, you know,' said Ardeth.

'That's really not the way it happened, Ardeth,' said Alex. 'The whole sequence of events was just... well, bad luck and bad timing!'

'You could just as well be describing life itself, I suppose,' said Ardeth, with the ghost of a smile on his lips. 'But the fact remains that if you and Yanit hadn't indulged in a base act of carnal gratification, this whole sorry situation would never have happened!'

'You know, Ardeth,' said Alex, 'you've called it a misguided adolescent urge and a base act of carnal gratification, but I know a much better name for it. It's called making love, and that's what we did together – an act of love!'

'Yes, but you're barely fifteen years old, Alex!' said Ardeth. 'You're too young to know what love really is, and there are many more appropriate ways in which you could and should be expressing yourself!'

'Only me and Yanit know what's appropriate for us, and how much we really love each other!' said Alex. 'Like you said once before, it's none of your business, really.'

'I was wrong – everything that happens here is my business! I can see it so clearly now – I should have been firmer with you about this from the start, and I should never have encouraged you to develop delusions of godhood!'

'I do not have delusions of godhood, and it's not your place to be firm with me about anything! My dad's cool with it. Why can't you be?'

'Good God above us,' Ardeth sighed, rubbing his temples, 'perhaps there was something to be said for the old no-girls-allowed rule. Nothing like this would have happened in the olden days!'

'I bet it _did_ , Ardeth,' said Alex. 'I bet it still _does_! Everyone has needs, you know, even in a same-sex environment.'

'Don't presume to explain away that which you do not understand, Alex!'

'Why not? That's exactly what you're doing to me!'

'Look,' said Ardeth, 'I have no intention of getting into this any further with you right now, but I will say that one major advantage of same-sex relations is that no one ever comes away pregnant!'

'Yeah, well I don't think I want to get into this any further with _you_ , either!' said Alex. 'Me and Yanit love each other and we're always going to be together and there's not one god-damned thing you can do to stop us expressing our love in whatever ways we want!'

'I can continue to caution you to -'

'No, you can't! I don't want to hear any more from you on the subject of me and Yanit, ever! As Supreme Medjai, I'm ordering you never to speak to me about it again!'

'You're breaking your own rules, aren't you?' Ardeth pointed out. 'You can't order me as Supreme Medjai without the backing of at least one other member of your Supreme Council.'

'Yes, you're right there,' said Alex. 'In that case, I'm _not_ ordering you as Supreme Medjai – I'm telling you, just as myself! Do not speak to me about my relationship with Yanit ever again – you'll regret it if you do!' 

Alex gave Ardeth a final scowl before leaving the office.

* * *

Alex knocked on Yanit's door and sidled a little way into the room.

'Can I come in?' he said.

'Yes, Alex,' said Yanit, smiling at him from her bed.

'Are you sure?' said Alex. 'If you want me to leave you alone so you can have an early night, just consider me gone!'

'No, don't go,' said Yanit. 'Come and sit with me for a bit; I want you to.'

Alex smiled at Yanit, then he came over and seated himself on the bed.

'You look troubled,' Yanit remarked.

'I can't believe I just threatened Ardeth!' said Alex. 'Also, I've realised that I was going on and on at you earlier about how wonderful my baby brother is and what a brilliant mother you'll make someday, and it was probably the last thing you wanted to hear from me, and I can't believe I did that either!'

'I _did_ want to hear those things from you, Alex,' Yanit assured him. 'I _needed_ to hear them. Why did you threaten Ardeth?'

'Because he's been telling me yet again how inappropriate he thinks our relationship is.'

'Oh, I see. Yes, he told me that in the hospital.'

'He did?' said Alex. 'Wow, his timing really sucks!'

'That's rich, coming from you,' Yanit giggled.

'Oh, don't!' said Alex. 'I feel guilty enough as it is!'

'Well, you shouldn't,' said Yanit. 'We need to put this whole series of unfortunate events behind us, Alex, and get on with the rest of our lives. Now that we're together again, I really feel like I can do that, and it's what I really want to do too!'

'Then I'll definitely do it with you!' said Alex. 'And while we're on that subject, Yanit, there's something I'm wondering whether you'd like to do with me tonight... like, right now, maybe.'

'Oh,' said Yanit, staring down into her lap. 'Oh, Alex, I... I really don't think I can; not just yet. It's not that I don't want to, because I do, but I... I...'

'Oh God, no!' said Alex. 'I'm not talking about _that_ , Yanit! After everything you've been through, it never even crossed my mind that now might be the right time for us to... well, to...'

'Of course it didn't,' said Yanit. 'I'm sorry, Alex; I should've known you weren't talking about sex. After all, I was the one who pushed so hard for it, wasn't I? I was the one who forced you into it!'

'Yanit, you didn't force me!' Alex assured her. 'I wanted it just as much as you did... but right now I have other things on my mind, and I'm wondering if you'd like to try one of them out with me.'

'Do elaborate, Alex.'

'I was practising my astral projection with the Minotaur for a few hours before the evening meal, and I was getting pretty good at it. At first I was just projecting myself from one side of the Great Cavern to the other, but by the end of the session I'd managed to appear in the assembly hall and my bedroom, and Imhotep's old tomb at Hamanaptra.'

'Ooh, well done you!' said Yanit.

'So I got to wondering,' said Alex, 'if I can project _myself_ like that, why shouldn't I take someone else with me? The Minotaur said he didn't see why I shouldn't be able to, seeing as I already have the power to link my mind with another person's, so we tried it out.'

'Oh, cool,' said Yanit. 'Did it work?'

'Yeah, it did,' said Alex. 'I managed to take the Minotaur to my private bathroom in astral form... I was actually aiming for my bedroom, but we both agreed it was pretty good for a first attempt. The connection lasted as long as we kept making physical contact, so I was wondering... I don't know, maybe it's a stupid idea...'

'I'm sure it's not,' said Yanit. 'Go ahead and tell me, Alex.'

'I thought I might try to pay a quick astral visit to my little brother,' said Alex. 'My parents will have put him to bed by now, and I'm absolutely aching to see him again. Do you, er... do you want to come with me?'

'I'd just love to meet your little brother, Alex,' Yanit beamed at him. 'Are you planning on interacting with your parents too?'

'No – I don't want to totally freak them out,' said Alex. 'We'll stay out of their way for now, if that's okay with you.'

'Whatever you think best is fine by me,' said Yanit. 'But you, er... you don't think we'll totally freak out Mikey by appearing to him as a ghostly vision, do you?'

'No, I don't think so,' said Alex. 'I'm hoping he'll just be happy to see me... or to sense my presence, maybe. I know I'll be happy to see him, anyway. And if he _does_ start to wig out, we'll leave immediately and never do it again.'

'Okay,' said Yanit, 'let's give it a try. How do we do this?'

'Well,' said Alex, holding out his hands to her, 'if you just take hold of me, and we both close our eyes...'

Yanit grasped Alex's hands and they closed their eyes. Alex's face pinched in concentration.

'Now I'll just link our minds... like this,' said Alex, 'and I'll try to imagine us in Mikey's nursery and then... well, hopefully, we will be.'

'Tell me when I can open my eyes, okay?' said Yanit. 

'Yes,' said Alex, 'I'll be sure to do that.'

* * *

Alex opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. A huge smile spread across his face.

'Yanit,' he whispered, 'you can open your eyes now.'

Yanit did so, and gasped at what she saw. They were standing in a small bedroom with an occupied cot in one corner, both looking rather insubstantial.

'Oh my God, it worked,' she breathed in awe. 'Whoa, this is trippy!'

'You didn't think I could do it, huh?' Alex grinned at her.

'Oh no, it's not that,' Yanit assured him. 'It's just that... well, you can't really come to terms with some things until you've actually experienced them first-hand.'

'Yeah, I know exactly what you mean,' said Alex. 'Come on; let's say hi to Mikey.'

Alex let go of Yanit's right hand and tightened his grip on her left. They went over to the cot and peered at the inert figure within.

'Oh Alex, he's absolutely gorgeous,' said Yanit. 'I can't wait to meet him properly at Christmas... so I can actually have a hold of him, I mean.'

Michael made a series of snuffling noises and his eyes slid open. He looked at Alex and reached up with his tiny hands. Alex smiled, and lowered his free hand into the cot. Michael grabbed at it in his usual way, apparently not overly concerned that he could not actually touch it.

'He definitely recognises you,' Yanit remarked.

'Of course he does,' said Alex. 'We're brothers and we'll always have a special bond.'

'That's lovely for you both, Alex,' Yanit said, somewhat wistfully.

'Oh, I'm sorry, Yanit,' said Alex. 'I didn't mean to remind you about your... well, your complete absence of living relatives.'

'That's okay, Alex,' Yanit smiled at him. 'I have you, and that's all I need.'

'Plus you have Mikey and the rest of my family,' said Alex. 'They're all really looking forward to meeting you properly.'

'I'm looking forward to it too,' said Yanit. 'You know, Alex, standing here like this in the presence of your little brother, I can't help feeling that you were right earlier.'

'I'm perfectly sure that I was,' Alex grinned. 'But about what in particular?'

'About us having a baby of our own someday,' said Yanit. 'Several years from now, when we're both ready, like you said. But I no longer have any doubts that it's going to happen.'

'Excellent,' said Alex.

They stood and looked down at Michael in silence for a few moments.

'Yanit, do you think I have delusions of godhood?' Alex suddenly asked.

'Certainly not!' said Yanit. 'If you did, you wouldn't have formed the Supreme Council, would you? The very most you see yourself as is the leader of a Holy Trinity.'

Alex laughed, and carefully moved his right arm so that it was around Yanit's shoulders, making sure to keep physical contact with her all the time. Yanit leaned her head against his.

'He's such a good baby,' Yanit said at length. 'Doesn't he ever cry?'

'Sometimes, yeah; when he wants something,' said Alex. 'I guess he's happy enough right now, just looking at me and clutching at my fingers.'

'I know exactly how he feels,' said Yanit.

The sound of footfalls on the staircase outside the room started to become audible. Alex whipped his head around to look at the slightly open door.

'That'll be my parents,' he said. 'We'd better go.'

'Okay,' said Yanit. 'Bye for now, Mikey; see you at Christmas.'

A split second after Alex and Yanit had faded away, the door opened to its fullest extent and Evy entered the room. She went over to the cot to check on Michael, while Rick followed a little way behind her.

'Is he okay?' said Rick.

'Yes, he seems to be fine,' said Evy, reaching a hand into the cot for Michael to clutch at. 'He's not asleep yet, but he's perfectly happy.'

'I knew it,' said Rick. 'He'll soon let us know if he wants anything, Evy.'

'Yes... yes, he will,' said Evy. 'It's very strange, though – I definitely had the feeling that something was going on in here. For a moment I thought... no, you'll think I'm silly!'

'I promise I won't. What did you think?'

'I thought Alex was in here. But he couldn't have been, could he? He's in Egypt.'

'Well, I guess in a very real but non-literal way, Alex _is_ here with us,' said Rick, 'just like always.'

'Yes...' said Evy. 'Yes, that's probably all it was.'

'Should we get back to our feast of leftover chicken, then?'

'Yes, let's do that.'


End file.
